Rublev rises from the ashes in Madrid!
Having arrived in Madrid in crisis, Andrey Rublev will be aiming for another Masters 1000 final this Friday. And the world no. 8 is clearly the odds-on favorite! He is, by far, the player with the greatest pedigree of the four semi-finalists. It's no exaggeration to say that the opportunity to win a second Masters 1000 title (after Monte-Carlo 2023) is enormous.
However, the clay-court season got off to a very poor start for the Russian. Disqualified for abusive language towards a linesman in February (against Bublik in the Dubai semi-finals), the Moscow-born player went from strength to strength (4 defeats in a row before arriving in the Spanish capital). But, as he himself says, everything can change very quickly in tennis: "For six weeks, I didn't win anything. It's better not to think about it at all. [...] It happens to everyone, all players have gone through these moments. The most important thing is to keep working, to improve and to remember that in one week everything can change." (remarks made at a press conference following his victory over Carlos Alcaraz 4-6, 6-3, 6-2).
More hard-hitting than ever, Rublev relied on dry shots and a killer serve to get back to winning ways in Madrid. His serve was perhaps the most striking weapon in his game this week. As evidenced by the little note Carlos Alcaraz slipped him after their match ("T'as super bien servi mec!"), Rublev serves very well. As the Muscovite himself admits: "In the last two matches, I've served really well. Having free points in every game is a real plus. (comments relayed by L'Equipe).
That said, his efficiency on serve is hardly surprising, given that the Russian is the third-best server on the circuit this season (90% of service games won on average in 2024). The rest of his tennis, based on powerful, suffocating strokes, stems from his killer serve.
Even more than his first serve, it's the quality of the world number 8's second serve that's starting to give cause for concern. For a long time, the Russian's second serve was a little shaky, but he's making great strides in this area: "We know that all players are aggressive and try to attack their second ball. That's why we're trying to improve our speed and take more risks. He's making progress every day." (Fernando Vicente, Rublev's coach).
With such a quality of service, all he needs to do is improve his break point efficiency, and he could go up another notch (40th in the world in terms of break point conversions in 2024).
For a place in the final, Rublev will face another player who is very comfortable on serve, Taylor Fritz (13th in the world). That said, this opponent is bound to bring back fond memories for him, having beaten him in the Monte-Carlo semi-finals last year (5-7, 6-1, 6-3), before claiming the title against Holger Rune.
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